U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian issued a preliminary approval to an agreement between Jeffrey Epstein’s estate executors and victims, Reuters reports. The executors may pay as much as $35 million to resolve a lawsuit that accused Epstein’s former lawyer Darren Indyke and former accountant Richard Kahn of involvement in sex trafficking.
Boies Schiller Flexner, a law firm representing Epstein victims, announced the initial settlement in February, which has now been approved by the judge. A hearing for final approval on the matter is forthcoming.
Indyke’s and Kahn’s lawyer, Daniel H. Weiner, previously told Reuters that the co-executors did not make “any admission or concession of misconduct” as part of the settlement. “Because they did nothing wrong, the co-executors were prepared to fight the claims against them through to trial, but agreed to mediate and settle this lawsuit in order to achieve finality as to any potential claims against the Epstein Estate,” Weiner explained. The settlement will further provide a “confidential avenue for financial relief,” he said.
The estate may pay $25 million if there are fewer than 40 eligible individuals, and $35 million if there are more than 40. “This resolution represents a substantial recovery that falls well within the range of reasonable resolutions,” the filing states. “The matter involved years of case investigation even before filing suit, including numerous pre-suit witness interviews and other fact investigation to analyze potential claims.”
The estate’s executors were subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee last year and have since turned over documents “reasonably construed to be a potential list of clients involved in sex, sex acts, or sex trafficking facilitated by Mr. Jeffrey Epstein,” the subpoena read.
